Heddle counter



HEDDLE COUNTER Filed Sept. 11, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet I1 INVEN'ITOR. Freder/c/f L. Mane/re BY ab? W ATTORNEYS F. L. WIENEKE HEDDLE COUNTER Sept. 10, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 11. 1961 INVENIOR. Trader/ck L. Mane/(e BY a)? Add 4W1; 444

A TTORNEY-S This invention relates to a device for counting the heddles in a heddle frame and for checking the orientation of the heddles in the frame. In such .a device, the frame is supported on a stand and a release key, similar to the release key used in a warp drawing-in machine, projects through keyhole slots in the heddles. If the latter are arranged properly, the keyholes of successive heddles extend in opposite directions so that the key releases one heddle at a time. The released heddle is intercepted and then sensed by a feeler which detects whether no heddles have been released, a single heddle has been released or more than one heddle has been released. If the feeler senses a single heddle, the operation of the device continues and the heddle is counted. Otherwise, the feeler is effective to stop the device.

The general object of the invention is to provide a new and improved heddle counter of the above character which is eifective to count the heddles released simultaneously from two parallel banks of heddles.

A more detailed object is to construct the feeler in a novel manner so that it senses first the'heddle released from one bank and then the heddle released from the other bank and so that the feeler stops the counter if the heddles from either bank have been released improperly.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a heddle counter embodying the novel features of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the feeler and associated parts.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line l l in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but shows the parts in a different position.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but shows the parts in still a different position.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the drive mechanism for the release keys.

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but shows the parts in another position.

For purposes of illustration, the invention is shown in the drawings as embodied in a heddle counter comprising an upright support or stand 10 on which a harness 11 is mounted in a generally vertical although somewhat inclined position. The hardness includes a heddle frame 12 which is hung on horizontally spaced pins 13 projecting laterally from the stand adjacent the upper end thereof. Two banks of heddles 14 and 14 (FIGS. 3 and 7) are slidably supported at their ends on narrow bars 15 which are rigid with the heddle frame, the banks being disposed on opposite sides of the center plane of the heddle frame.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and '7, a release key shaft 3 ,1 03,05 7' Patented Sept. 10, 1963 16 projects through keyhole slots 17 in the heddles 14 while a similar shaft 16 projects through keyhole slots 17 in the heddles 14 Extending helically around the lower end portions of the shafts are keys 18 and 18 respectively and, when the heddles are properly arranged, the keyholes in the successive heddles of each bank face in opposite directions so that each shaft releases a heddle each half revolution. To turn the key shafts 16 and 16 a suitable electric motor drive unit 19 is mounted on the top of the stand 10 and drives a spur gear 26 which meshes gears 2.1 and 21 chucked to the shafts 16 and 16- respectively. A backer 22 is slidably supported on the heddle frame and presses the heddles down toward the keys.

If the heddles I14 and 14 are arranged properly in the harness, two heddles, one from each bank, will be released simultaneously. These heddles are intercepted by a slide 23 (FIG. 3) which supports the heddles while their presence is sensed by .a feeler 24 which, if the heddles are improperly released, actuates a switch 25 to stop the drive unit 19. When the feeler detects that the heddles have been released properly, the slide is retracted to permit the released heddles to fall to the stack 14 (FIG. 1) and the operation continues to release and sense the next pair of heddles. The slide 23 and the feeler 24 .are operated in synchronism with the release key shafts 16 and 16 by the drive unit 1% through a drive shaft 2 6. The latter also operates a revolution counter .27 which totals the number of heddles released.

In accordance with the present invention, the feeler 24 is constructed and arranged in .a novel manner so that it senses both the heddles 14- and the heddles 14 and detects Whether more or less than one has been released from either bank. Thus, if the release keys 18 and 18 have failed to release a heddle from one bank or the other or if one key has released two or more heddles, the feeler will detect this condition and stop the drive unit 19. On the other hand, if the feeler senses one heddle from each bank, it permits the slide 23 to retract and the operation of the heddle counter to continue.

Herein, the slide 23 is in the form of a generally horizontal plate having projecting fingers 23 and sliding back and forth across the planes of the banks of heddles 14 and M on a bracket 28 which is secured to a crossbar 29 on the stand 1d, the slide being guided by blocks 30 bolted to the bracket. To reciprocate the slide, a face cam 31 disposed beneath the bracket 28 is keyed to the drive shaft 26 and the follower 32. for the cam is fast on a horizontal lever 33 intermediate the ends thereof. At one end, the lever is fulcrumed on the bracket as indicated at 34 and the other end is connected to the slide by a pin 35 which is rigid with the slide and projects into a slot 36 in the end of the lever, the pin extending down through a slot 37 in the bracket. Also driven by the shaft 26 through gearing 38 is a shaft 39 which is journaled on the bracket and serves as the input for the revolution counter 27.

As shown in FIGS. 3 through 6, the feeler 24 includes a lever 4b which is generally normal to the plane of the heddle frame 12 and is fulcrumed intermediate its ends at 41 to turn about a horizontal axis. A roller 42 is journaled on the forward end of the lever and the latter is supported for bodily endwise movement so that the roller rides across and feels of the heddles intercepted and 48 as the roller rides over the heddles 14 3 by the slide 23'. Herein, such endwise movement is obtained by mounting the lever 40 directly on the slide with the roller 42 spaced behind the ends of the finger 23* whereby the heddles 14 and 14 when they are released fall on the outer end portions of the fingers and in front of the roller and, upon continued forward movement of the slide, the roller is carried over the heddles. A compression spring 43 acting between the slide and the lever urges the roller down into contact with the heddles.

With the foregoing arrangement, the lever 4% assumes a normal position, herein parallel to the bracket 28, when the roller 42 rides over a single heddle 14 and remains in this position when the roller also senses a single heddle 14 on the slide 23. If, on the other hand, the key 1'81 failed to release a heddle 14 the lever it would tilt counter-clockwise as shown in FIG. 5. Similar tilting of the lever occurs when the roller fails to detect the presence of a heddle :14, this being illustrated in FIG. 6. In a like manner, the lever will tilt clockwise if the key 18* releases two heddles 14 (see FIG. 8) or if the key 18 releases two heddles 14 as shown in broken lines in FIG. 6.

Such tilting of the lever 40 out of the normal position is utilized to actuate the switch 25 which controls the drive unit .19 to stop the key shafts 16 and 16 and the drive shaft 26'. For this purpose, an arm 4-4 fulcrumed at 45 (FIG. 3) on the bracket to swing about a vertical axis operates the switch actuator 4d and is turned about its axis anytime the lever 40 is sensing a heddle 14 or a heddle l4 and is out of its normal position. The arm is generally perpendicular to the lever 40 and the adjacent end is bifurcated to provide fingers 47 and 48 which respectively project over and under the rear end portion of the lever. The latter moves back and forth in the space between the fingers as the slide 23 moves in and out.

The lever 40 carries a plurality of abutments which pass freely between the fingers 47 and 48 when the lever is in the normal position but which engage one or the other of the fingers to actuate the switch 25 when the lever is tilted out of this position due to the improper release of the heddles. These abutrnents are arranged in pairs spaced along the lever a distance equal to the spacring of the centers of the heddles 14- and 14 so that one set of abutments is eifective to swing the arm 44 upon the absence of or excessive number of heddles 14 while the other set of abutments performs a similar function as regards the heddles 14 Thus, as shown in FIG. 4, an abutment 49 projects upwardly from the rear end of the lever 44} while an abutment 50 depends from this end and these two abutments are eifective when the roller 42 is feeling of the heddles '14. A similar set of upwardly and downwardly projecting abutments 49 and are adjacent the fingers 47 In this way, the roller first moves over a heddle 14 and, if there is only one, the abutni'ents 49 and Stl will pass between and clear of the fingers as will the abutments 49 and 59 if the roller proceeds to move over a single heddle 14.

Should the key 18 fail to release a heddle 14* the lever 40 will be tilted in the manner shown in FIG. 5 when the roller 42 moves across the plane of the heddles in this bank and, as a result, the abutment 49 engages the upper finger 47 to swing the arm 4-4 and actuate the switch .25. if the first heddle 14 is present but no second heddle 14 has been released, the abutments 49 and 50 will pass between the fingers as the roller rides acros the heddle 14* but the lever will tilt as shown in full lines in FIG. 6 when the roller moves off this heddle whereby the abutment 49 will engage the finger 47.

In a like manner, two or more heddles 14 being released simultaneously will cause the roller 42 to ride up above its normal position and swing the abutment 51% down where it engages the finger 48 as shown in FIG.

a d 8. The abutment 50 will perform in the same way if the roller senses the presence of more than one heddle 14.

Provision may be made to insure tilting of the lever 40 if one or the other of the keys 18 and 18 releases such a large number of heddles that the roller 42 cannot ride over them. To this end, the lever is fulcrurned on a bar 51 (FIG. 4) which in turn is pivotally mounted at 52 on a block 53 bolted to the slide 23. The fulcrum 41 is above the pivot 52 so that, when the roller engages a large stack of heddles, the fulcrum swings rearwardly around the pivot and tilts the lever clockwise, one of the abutments '50 and 50 thereby engaging the finger 48. This mounting of the lever may be utilized to provide a means for adjusting the normal position of the lever and, for this purpose, a screw 54 is threaded through the bar 51 and abuts the slide 23 whereby turn ing the screw adjusts the fulcrum 4-1 up and down. A contractile spring 55 acting between the slide and the bar urges the screw down against the slide. Also, the trailing edges of the abutments 49 and Stl are inclined to facilitate return of the lever 40 in those instances where the lever is out of the normal position, the inclined surfaces as cams to tilt the lever back to its normal position.

I claim as my invention:

1. A device for operating on heddles supported in two banks lying in parallel planes, said device comprising mechanism for releasing a heddle from each bank simultaneously, a member movable across said planes to intercept and support the released heddles, an elongated lever mounted to turn about an axis parallel to said planes and adjacent said member, a sensing element mounted on said lever adjacent said planes, means for moving said lever endwise to advance said element across the heddles supported on said member, said lever assuming a predetermined normal position as said element engages a single heddle from each of said banks, an arm extending transversely of said lever and having spaced fingers straddling the lever, first abutments rigid with and projecting laterally from said lever to pass between said fingers when said element engages the heddle from one bank and the lever is in said normal position and to engage a finger when the lever is out of said normal position, second and similar abutments spaced from said first abutments to pass between or engage said fingers when said element engages a heddle from the other bank, and means responsive to engagement of said fingers and operable to produce a signal.

2. A device for operating on heddles supported in two banks lying, respectively, in first and second planes, said device comprising mechanism for releasing a heddle from each bank simultaneously, a mernber movable across said planes to intercept and support the released heddles, an elongated lever mounted to turn about an axis parallel to said planes and adjacent said member, a sensing element mounted on said lever adjacent said planes, means for moving said lever endwise to advance said element across the heddles supported on said member, said lever assuming a predetermined normal position as said element engages a single heddle from each of said banks, a finger extending transversely of and overlying said lever, first and second abutments projecting laterally from said lever and spaced apart longitudinally of the lever a distance corresponding to the spacing of said planes, said abutments passing clear of said finger as said element moves across the heddles on said support when the lever is in said normal position and said abutments engaging said finger when the lever is disposed to one side of said normal position as said element is passing through said first and second planes respectively, and means responsive to engagement of said finger and operable to produce a signal.

3. A device for operating on heddles supported in two banks lying in parallel planes, said device comprising mechanism for releasing a heddle from each bank simultaneously, a member movable across said planes to intercept and support the released heddles, a feeler mounted to move transversely of said planes and across the heddles on said member, first and second abutments carried by said feeler and spaced apart longitudinally of the direction of feeler movement a distance corresponding to the spacing of said planes, said abutments being supported for movement along a predetermined path as said feeler moves across a single heddle from each bank and for movement out of said path in the absence of a single heddle from either bank, an actuating element disposed alongside said path to be adjacent said first abutment as said feeler moves across one heddle and adjacent said second abutment as the feeler moves across the other heddle and to be engaged by an abutment when the same is out of said path, and means responsive to engagement of said element and an abutment and operable to produce a signal.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,457,649 Drake Dec. 28, 1948 2,695,439 Borchardt Nov. 30, 1954 2,812,078 Dayvault Nov. 5, 1957 

1. A DEVICE FOR OPERATING ON HEDDLES SUPPORTED IN TWO BANKS LYING IN PARALLEL PLANES, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING MECHANISM FOR RELEASING A HEDDLE FROM EACH BANK SIMULTANEOUSLY, A MEMBER MOVABLE ACROSS SAID PLANES TO INTERCEPT AND SUPPORT THE RELEASED HEDDLES, AN ELONGATED LEVER MOUNTED TO TURN ABOUT AN AXIS PARALLEL TO SAID PLANES AND ADJACENT SAID MEMBER, A SENSING ELEMENT MOUNTED ON SAID LEVER ADJACENT SAID PLANES, MEANS FOR MOVING SAID LEVER ENDWISE TO ADVANCE SAID ELEMENT ACROSS THE HEDDLES SUPPORTED ON SAID MEMBER, SAID LEVER ASSUMING A PREDETERMINED NORMAL POSITION AS SAID ELEMENT ENGAGES A SINGLE HEDDLE FROM EACH OF SAID BANKS, AN ARM EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF SAID LEVER AND HAVING SPACED FINGERS STRADDLING THE LEVER, FIRST ABUTMENTS RIGID WITH AND PROJECTING LATERALLY FROM SAID LEVER TO PASS BETWEEN SAID FINGERS WHEN SAID ELEMENT ENGAGES THE HEDDLE FROM ONE BANK AND THE LEVER IS IN SAID NORMAL POSITION AND TO ENGAGE A FINGER WHEN THE LEVER IS OUT OF SAID NORMAL POSITION, SECOND AND SIMILAR ABUTMENTS SPACED FROM SAID FIRST ABUTMENTS TO PASS BETWEEN OR ENGAGE SAID FINGERS WHEN SAID ELEMENT ENGAGES A HEDDLE FROM THE OTHER BANK, AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO ENGAGEMENT OF SAID FINGERS AND OPERABLE TO PRODUCE A SIGNAL. 